March 2, 2017

Taken by the
Bengals in the second round of the 1984 NFL draft, the left-handed Esiason
replaced Ken Anderson as the starting quarterback in ’85. An accurate passer
with a strong arm and good mobility, he led the league in TD percentage (6.3)
in 1985 with 27 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions. He was selected to the Pro
Bowl in ’86 after passing for 3959 yards and averaging 8.4 yards per attempt as
the Bengals improved to 10-6.

Bengals went 4-11
in the strike-shortened season (three games were played with replacement
players) to finish fourth in the AFC Central.

Aftermath:

Esiason followed
up with an MVP season in 1988as he led the league in passing with a 97.4 rating
and Cincinnati won the AFC title. He had another Pro Bowl season in 1989, with
nearly identical numbers to ’88, although the team’s record dropped to 8-8.
After three disappointing seasons in 1990, ’91, and ’92, he was traded to the
New York Jets and was selected to a fourth Pro Bowl in 1993, although his
performance dropped off in the second half of the year. The next two years with
the Jets, a team in flux, were mediocre and Esiason moved on to the Arizona
Cardinals, where he threw for 522 yards in one game but otherwise had an
inconsequential season. He returned to Cincinnati for one last, good year in a
part-time role in 1997 (five starts, but a 106.9 passer rating with 13 TDs and
just 2 INTs) before retiring to the broadcast booth. Overall, Esiason passed for
37,920 yards with 247 TDs against 184interceptions.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories: